Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1887-12-22
gone far. down she went. md raised .

/
along IN tho dark. foelin' Of her way
with her hands.
Finally sho got over. but she was
that bruised up from fallin'. and she'd
lost so much time kneeln' OF her way
| across the treste. that she knew she d
got to strain every muscle in her body
to get beyond Dugan's in time to stop
No. 81; and tell you she just laid her.
self out to get thele.
"Twas plain sailin' now til she got
down to the telegraph shanty. which is
! jest this side o the pit, and though
twas almost dark Mary made good
time, and when she got 10 the shanty,
where the long stretch O straight
track begins, old 81 wasn't in ght
yit.
''She could hear the 'tally.mens' a
! signin' and raisin' the or Ned over in
their shanty. but that didn't stop her.
She only grippcd her crutch the harder
and hurried 10 get by. Thoy's a path
along the pit o the main track. be.
tween the telegraph shanty and the
east end OF the sidin' where the swamp
begins. ami Mary thought she could
get along faster by foIlerin' that as
far as. { went.
"Shc was a sturupin it along as fast
as Gold let her. when of SUDDEN
her foot hit suthin' layin' in the path.
and she fell head. first across it onto
the ground.
The thing granted and rolled over
and she knew twas man layin' there
but he was so drunk no didn't wake
up.
Mary was 50 startled. though by
The suddenness o the thing. that before
she knew it she let out a yell.
Three or four Italians that was
standin' outside o. the shantv door
heard the screech, and they picked up
some torches, such as they use for dig
ging gravel BIZ at night and started
over to see what was the matter.
MARY d picked herself up, and she
crawled along down the path, Il hidin'
o the red lantern under her ovcr3k TT,
til she got out o range o tho torch
| light and when the Italians was all
gathered round their partner. q lay
in there dead drunk, she lit out for
dear life.
when she got on 10 the end of the
| q M an In hn hnl
again. aud hadn't gone more'n forty
yard when she run onto the ties that
the lramps had piled on the track.
"Instead of ben' one or two, though.
there was dozen of EN-, for the Teller
meant b zness. an he'd made sure
that there was no way o the train
gettin' b. tho ties without runnip. off.
They WASH all piled up together.
but was laid along one by one.
MARY stopped down and tried to
lift tho first one OF. but somehow
other she couldn't make it bulge!
She tried agin' but twas no 60.
and then she saw that the ties was all
wedged down to the track by havin
two stakes drove slantin' across each
end of 'em.
just as she was beginning to real
ize that sho couldn't move en-. she
heard No. 81 whistle for Swartzvillo
curve. bout a mile N half away.
''She grabbed the lantern and start.
ed down the track, a swingin' of it
from side to side as she saw 81 head
light a loomin' round the curve.
".Here! wa: yer doin' W tn that yer
red light?' somebody hollcred at her;
and when she looked round she saw a
man get up from the shadder o tue
fence and come ruunin' arter her.
at didn take her no time to guess
the feller was the one what was dom
the wreckin' but she thought she
could keep ahead o him till she got
the train stopped.
He wasn't goin' ter have it tina,
way though, and ho was gain n OF
her at every step.
She was desprit then, and sir. | be
lieve God was guidin' OF her and Civ
in Of her strength. for such veal
creatures as her couldn't stand no secl
strain rs that lesson they was giyer
strength from some ares.
so just rs the tramp got within ter
feet OF 'er and she see she couldn'
keep away from him any longer sh,
stopped OF sudden aud set The Lantern
down on the track.
.Then she grabbed her orutch b,
the small end. and, swingin' it around
she brought it down ca'thump on tn
critters head. and he dropped in hi
tracks without kick.
Twas all done in second. sir. bu
ut such times us that every secon,
that's wasted is worth year of ordin
airy time. and when Mary picked u
, the lantern again 81 had closed up til
. gap between 'em until she thought sh
, never would be able to stop 'em quic
enough.
Dick Richards, the engineer, wa
, lookrn' out, though, and when he ble'
a short blast on the whistle Mary kne,
, he'd seen the light. and after she d sc
:. the lantern in the middle O the trac
q she stepped off on the side OF the roaC
bed.
! Dick put on the air-brakes an
, threw the lever over and 81 gave
=, jerk like horse a balkin' on til
race track. and then eased up slow-lik,
and stopped just before she got to til
n red light.
a Dick and Tom Baker and JAG
a Wheeler run up ahead to the lanter
!, and found Mary layin' there on Il
side o the track where she'd fell in
;, faintin' fit when she heard the last O
!, haust OF 57's engine US it pulled up al
70 stopped.
). while Jack and Tom was a TAXI
n MARY back TO the train, Dick wake
a.. down the track and found the tran
a-layin' right where he d fell.
ID "rhcy picked him up and put him
~ the bopoaUe car. and tina next time